Corinth Basket Nezi Field, context 5606

Collection:		Corinth
Type:		Basket
Name:		Nezi Field, context 5606
Area:		Nezi Field
Context Type:		Surface
Title:		Floor between walls 5485 and 5483
Category:		Deposit
Notebook:		1101
Context:		5606
Page:		0
Date:		2008/05/23
Lot:		Lot 2008-024
Stratum:		20% inclusionsL 10% pebbles (fine to coarse, spherical to tabular, rounded to angular), <5% tile, <5% cobble (rounded to angular, spherical and tabular), 5% pottery
Description:		Top slope of the context is slight down to the E. The soil color is light yellowish brown. The soil compaction is hard. The soil is poorly sorted. It is silt.
Notes:		This floor surface was revealed under the tile layer 5568 and the fill layer 5588. It is a packed earth surface which comes up against three of the walls of this room (5483, 5485, 5519). Kostas began excavating from cut 5606 where the floor surface beneath 5606 was revealed with the excavation of this cut. From here he moved west to east. We are leaving a roughly 0.10m martyr along where the floor meets the walls. This is because we noticed that there was a thin area of softer soil along where the floor meets the walls. We are uncertain as to what this is, but it is possibly a foundation trench, althoguh very narrow. Or, this this "trench" is where it was too hard for the people creating the floor to step in this thin area against the wall to pack down the soil. We will leave this martyr and remove it later as a separate context in case this is a foundation trench and in case floor 5606 contaminates the trench. Then, we will already know the material of floor 5606 and be able to judge the contamination. Additionally, if this is a foundation trench along the walls and is level with the floor, then it cuts the floor making the floor eariler than the trench and therefore, the floor would not truly contaminate the fill of the trench. We are removing this floor in order to date it and hopefully be able to better date the walls of the room. We are also hoping to find foundation trenches for the walls, if we have not already. One thing to note about the west end of this area is that there is a plant with an extensive root system throughout this layer and the one below it (matbe further down too). It has affected layers 5588 and 5568 as well. There was a concentration of tile along wall 5485 in the bottom of floor 5606. The floor revealed below 5606 was much more level that 5606 and runs under wall 5485. We will remove the martyr next and finish out the room. Revised 10.6.08 ACF: This fill, which was 0.22 m deep, abutted wall 5485, but after its removal, left wall 5485 pedastaled on about 0.15 m of dirt. It is likely that we actually removed two layers: on top a thin floor that was built against wall 5485, making it the first floor in association with this later wall, and below it some leveling fill which actually goes under wall 5485 and probably over to wall 5284. The alternative, less likely explanation is that wall 5485 cut floor 5606, which is truly one layer 0.22 m deep as we dug it, but this would mean wall 5485 had no foundation trench. The first explanation means fill was put in between walls 5284, 5519, 5483, and 5484, then wall 5485 laid on top (meaning there would be no foundation trench) then floor 5606 built against wall 5485. Once wall 5485 is removed and the dirt between walls 5485 and 5284 is excavated, we will know more. In the dirt that is now pedastaling wall 5485, we believe we can see two contexts: the dirt in the southern half has large tile chunks and at least one, maybe two partial vessels-this may be pit fill. This should be re-examined after the removal of wall 5485. This wall should come next, but we do not yet have permission to remove it, so we will continue to dig in this area leaving a 0.80 m martyr to the east of wall 5485 so that the western part of the room can eventually be dug stratigraphically once wall 5485 is removed.
Context Pottery:		Fineware. slipped plain glazed (1100-1300), pitcher. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .; Cooking ware. stew pot, triangular. 1 rim. (saved to lot) .; Coarseware. pitcher. 1 handle. 6 bodysherds. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. frit, frit. 1 rim. (saved to lot) .; Coarseware. amphora. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .; Coarseware. basin. 4 rims. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. late sgraffito, slipped style VII (1250-1300), bowl. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. glaze painted II/III, slipped (1140-1160), pitcher. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. pre-medieval8 bodysherds.
Pottery Summary:		12 frag(s) 0.04 kg. (33% saved) fineware.
		126 frag(s) 1.61 kg. (13% saved) coarseware.
		41 frag(s) 0.19 kg. (2% saved) cooking ware.
Context Artifacts:		iron nail square shank 1; shell ostrea 1; revetment green 1; stone tessera grey 1; iron flat strip 1; iron blade triangular in section 1
Period:		Frankish (1210-1458 AD)
Chronology:		mid 13th c.
Grid:		270.5-267.05E, 1025.45-1027N
XMin:		267.05
XMax:		270.5
YMin:		1025.45
YMax:		1027
Site:		Corinth
City:		Ancient Corinth
Country:		Greece
Masl:		84.75-84.97m.
References:		Report: Nezi Field 2008 by Anne C. Feltovich, Catherine W. Person and Emily M. Rush (2008-05-05 to 2008-06-14) Report: Nezi Field 2009 by spongberg hammond lima (2009-05-20 to 2009-05-21) Image: digital 2008 0139 Image: digital 2008 0140 Image: digital 2008 0141